Bottom Line:
Although evidence suggests recent reductions in infant and child mortality, little is known about the age and sex patterns of premature deaths in India.These findings suggest a significant improvement in early childhood mortality and increasing mortality trends in 30-45-year-old adult males.The increasing share of premature deaths among adults and high levels of premature mortality suggest an improvement in child survival increased attention should be given to prevention and treatment of non-communicable diseases in order to avoid premature deaths in India.

BMJOPEN2014005386F3: Working years of potential life lost (WYPLL; in millions) for top nine causes of death among adults by sex in India, 2002. CVD, cardiovascular disease.

Mentions:
Table 4 and figures 1–3 present the indices of premature mortality by causes of death for males and females. We have taken the top nine causes of death among adults and computed the YPLL, PYPLL and WYPLL. These indices were estimated for 2002 because causes of death data were available only for this year. Among the nine leading causes of death, CVD accounts for the greatest loss in YPLL and WYPLL. The WYPLL among males was 26 million due to CVD, 12 million due to tuberculosis, and 11 million due to diarrhoeal diseases. The rate of WYPLL among males was also greatest for CVD (50 million) followed by tuberculosis (23 million) and diarrhoeal diseases (22 million). Similarly, for females, the WYPLL was highest for CVD (15 million) followed by diarrhoeal diseases (14 million) and malignant and other neoplasms (8 million). Among males, the YPLL was highest for CVD (21 million) followed by diarrhoeal diseases (12 million) and tuberculosis (9 million). For females, the YPLL was highest for CVD (17 million) followed by diarrhoeal diseases (9 million) and respiratory diseases (8 million). Regarding PYPLL, among males, the PYPLL rate was highest for diarrhoeal diseases (9 million) followed by CVD (8 million) and accidents (7 million). In the case of females, the rate of PYPLL was also highest for diarrhoeal diseases (11 million) followed by CVD (4 million) and accidents (4 million). The corresponding YPLL, PYPLL and WYPLL rates show the same trends for the given causes of death.

BMJOPEN2014005386F3: Working years of potential life lost (WYPLL; in millions) for top nine causes of death among adults by sex in India, 2002. CVD, cardiovascular disease.

Mentions:
Table 4 and figures 1–3 present the indices of premature mortality by causes of death for males and females. We have taken the top nine causes of death among adults and computed the YPLL, PYPLL and WYPLL. These indices were estimated for 2002 because causes of death data were available only for this year. Among the nine leading causes of death, CVD accounts for the greatest loss in YPLL and WYPLL. The WYPLL among males was 26 million due to CVD, 12 million due to tuberculosis, and 11 million due to diarrhoeal diseases. The rate of WYPLL among males was also greatest for CVD (50 million) followed by tuberculosis (23 million) and diarrhoeal diseases (22 million). Similarly, for females, the WYPLL was highest for CVD (15 million) followed by diarrhoeal diseases (14 million) and malignant and other neoplasms (8 million). Among males, the YPLL was highest for CVD (21 million) followed by diarrhoeal diseases (12 million) and tuberculosis (9 million). For females, the YPLL was highest for CVD (17 million) followed by diarrhoeal diseases (9 million) and respiratory diseases (8 million). Regarding PYPLL, among males, the PYPLL rate was highest for diarrhoeal diseases (9 million) followed by CVD (8 million) and accidents (7 million). In the case of females, the rate of PYPLL was also highest for diarrhoeal diseases (11 million) followed by CVD (4 million) and accidents (4 million). The corresponding YPLL, PYPLL and WYPLL rates show the same trends for the given causes of death.

Bottom Line:
Although evidence suggests recent reductions in infant and child mortality, little is known about the age and sex patterns of premature deaths in India.These findings suggest a significant improvement in early childhood mortality and increasing mortality trends in 30-45-year-old adult males.The increasing share of premature deaths among adults and high levels of premature mortality suggest an improvement in child survival increased attention should be given to prevention and treatment of non-communicable diseases in order to avoid premature deaths in India.